Best dSLR for around $500-800 USD - Suggestions?

[novass]

I am looking to maybe getting a new camera since I will be going on a big trip and want to take some nice photos. I am not a very serious photographer so I don't need something super fancy. I have been mainly looking at a Nikon D40 or a Canon Rebel EOS XT. Anyone have any experience with either or any ideas on the two? Also, anyone know the difference between the D40 and D40x? I am leaning towards the Nikon because I think I may be able to get a discount on it (one of my brothers friends works at Nikon, so I need to talk to him)

If I can't get the discount, I still found this (http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D40-Digital-SLR-18-55-55-200-3Lens-4GB-Kit-D-40_W0QQitemZ280102013025QQihZ018QQcategoryZ43456QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
Seems a pretty good deal to me. For $200 more than the regular camera in the stores, I get a bunch of extra stuff like 2 more lenses.

Any ideas?

[RC45]

EBay D70 or D70s.

Great bargains to be had as the D80 is all the rage.

[novass]

^ Ya I was giving that a thought as well and just started looking up D70s 8)

What is the difference between the D70 and D70s?

[novass]

Shit, you weren't kidding! I have already found some incredible deals on D70s :D Now I just have to wait for my birthday :wink:

[RC45]

Damn - are we going to be bidding against each other now? :P ;)

The "s" has a few mid-model range feature changes - Diff. format RAWW image, bigger LCD display and few other odss and sods.

I have used both - and as an amatuer hack i couldn't tell the diff. apart.

Sort of like when a 405hp 2004 C5 Z06er used to look down their nose at my crappy "old" stock 385hp 2001 C5 Z06... they changed their tune when I put a car length on him :P ;)

I think its all in the driver hehe

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0504/05042003nikond70s.asp

[novass]

LOL No I wont be bidding for at least another month. I have to wait to get closer to my birthday in late May to lessen the pain of the $700-$1000 hit on my bank account considering I have a big trip planned in July-August. I have also been thinking of selling my Nova as well. Not just for the money, but also because I kinda grew out of the muscle car/drag racing phase and would like to get something better suited for the turns. Oh well, my plans for getting buried in that car may change :cry:

Thanks for the info on the D70/D70s. I am too much of an am to notice any difference though Im sure. :D

Are you bidding on something right now RC?

[ae86_16v]

Hey Nova, yeah, personal preference. Definitely the most limiting factor is the guy behind the camera. The difference between the D40 and D40x is 6mp and 10mp. Not that Megapixels matter that much.

The camera you saw me using last Saturday was a Nikon D50. Personally I prefer the D50 over the D70/D70s (which I also owned before) because of size. The D40 also has a nice size to comparable to the Rebel XT and XTi, but personally I think those are a bit too small.

If I had the money, I would go D80 all the way. :D

[ae86_16v]

If I can't get the discount, I still found this (http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D40-Digital-SLR-18-55-55-200-3Lens-4GB-Kit-D-40_W0QQitemZ280102013025QQihZ018QQcategoryZ43456QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
Seems a pretty good deal to me. For $200 more than the regular camera in the stores, I get a bunch of extra stuff like 2 more lenses.

Any ideas?

By the way, those two lenses are crap. I mean they are okay, but nothing to get excited about. I would not get them.

[RC45]

Are you bidding on something right now RC?

No - I am stuck between buying a D70 or an HD camcorder or a Sparco EVO.. ;) hehe

[novass]

Hey Nova, yeah, personal preference. Definitely the most limiting factor is the guy behind the camera. The difference between the D40 and D40x is 6mp and 10mp. Not that Megapixels matter that much.

The camera you saw me using last Saturday was a Nikon D50. Personally I prefer the D50 over the D70/D70s (which I also owned before) because of size. The D40 also has a nice size to comparable to the Rebel XT and XTi, but personally I think those are a bit too small.

If I had the money, I would go D80 all the way. Very Happy

By the way, those two lenses are crap. I mean they are okay, but nothing to get excited about. I would not get them.

Thanks for the advice bro. I would have asked you then to check out your camera but I just had this thought earlier tonight :x

I think the D40/D40x would be good enough for me as I have no intention of being a professional photographer anytime soon, but I would like to be better than I am now.

Hopefully tomorrow I can contact my brother's friend and see if he can get me a discount then I can see if that helps my decision any :D

[novass]

Are you bidding on something right now RC?

No - I am stuck between buying a D70 or an HD camcorder or a Sparco EVO.. ;) hehe

Ah, some tough decisions there :D

[ae86_16v]

No worries. You could check it out next time if you like. :)

Two major reasons why I do not like the D40/D40x:

1. it only has a 3 focus points
2. it can not drive older lenses that do not have a built-in motor. So you could only use the newer AF-S and AF-I lenses only.

I think the second point is important because you will be missing out on great lense like the 50mm f/1.8.

[novass]

^ ahh, ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

[R8audi]

My vote... The Canon Eos 400D

http://www.shopzilla.com/12--Canon_Digital_Rebel_XTi_-_cat_id--402__keyword--canon%20eos%20400d__prod_id--484798075

[ae86_16v]

^ ahh, ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

Actually if you do not have a huge collection of lenses already, the lack of motor thing shouldn't be a problem because all the new lenses have built in motors already.

Although I find that a 5 Area Focus Points on the D50/D70/D70s to be really useful. So that's why I think that the 3 Area Focus is lacking a bit. The D80 has 11 Area Focus! :shock:

[novass]

My vote... The Canon Eos 400D

http://www.shopzilla.com/12--Canon_Digital_Rebel_XTi_-_cat_id--402__keyword--canon%20eos%20400d__prod_id--484798075

Thanks, I will check that one out too :D

^ ahh, ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

Actually if you do not have a huge collection of lenses already, the lack of motor thing shouldn't be a problem because all the new lenses have built in motors already.

Although I find that a 5 Area Focus Points on the D50/D70/D70s to be really useful. So that's why I think that the 3 Area Focus is lacking a bit. The D80 has 11 Area Focus! :shock:

LOL I don't even know what Area Focus is. But bigger is always better :wink: I still have some time to decide and I am going to watch some prices so hopefully I can find something.

[sameerrao]

I think a used D50 would be the perfect starter DSLR. You can put it in Auto mode and it will still take decent pics. Later on if you want to experiment, you can play with all the aperture/shutter speed settings.

For $600 you should get
- A used D50
- Nikon 18-70mm lens (great lens of travel shots, close-up work)
- 2 GB SD card
- camera bag

[novass]

^ Cool. That sounds like what I am after. I need to do a little research on lenses to just to know what all the numbers mean LOL

[ae86_16v]

I think a used D50 would be the perfect starter DSLR. You can put it in Auto mode and it will still take decent pics. Later on if you want to experiment, you can play with all the aperture/shutter speed settings.

For $600 you should get
- A used D50
- Nikon 18-70mm lens (great lens of travel shots, close-up work)
- 2 GB SD card
- camera bag

Actually that is exactly what I did for my girlfriend. I picked up a brand new D50 from Wolf Cameras/Ritz for $375 (free shipping and no tax to California) or so because it was on sale. And now she "stole" my 18-70mm lens. :)

Which was the camera you saw me using the other day Nova. I actually like using the D50 over my old D70. I just I found myself not really using the extra features of the D70/D70s as much as I thought I would.

Although I don't think you could get the D50 anymore since technically it has been replaced by the D40x. Wolf Camera is great because you get 10 bucks off if you do Google check out, plus another 5% Cash back if you log through FatWallet's website. And if I recall they ship out of SoCal, like Rancho Cucamonga or City of Industry, or something like that.

A caution about used cameras, I noticed most of the times, they aren't much cheaper than buying new. Many times, you are just saving tax and a memory card. With Nikon Warranties, if I recalled, they are not transferrable (you should check on that just to be sure). That means that the warranty only applies to the first owner. Also grab a program like EXIF reader to see how many Shutter Acutations has taken place. That is sort of like the odometer for the camera, precautions to take.

Yeah, the Rebel XT and XTi are great cameras as well. In terms of function, they are more capable than both the D40x and D50, and to some extent the D70 as well. Although the D80 definitely has a leg up on performance and feature set over the XT and newer XTi, it also cost a few hundred more.

Bottomline, if you were to get the D40x, I would rather recommend you pick up the Rebel XT (350D). But I personally like the D50 the best, and if I had the money, I would get the D80. :D

Again as RC mentioned before, I would not get too caught up in the specs right now, the limiting factor would be the human behind the camera more than the camera itself. :lol:

[TopGearNL]

The D50 is the D70 only the D70 has more buttons..

They're exactly the same..

Don't go for the D40, please no!

I use a D50 myself and the camera is perfect for everything! Its the lenses where you want to spend the money.

Then again if you more new camera and your budget allows it a D80 is a good option, but it has more functions then the D50 and the question is will you use them?

Anyway I would spend less money on the body and more on the lenses, thats what I did..

Go Nikon, join the Darkside!

:twisted:

[Erez]

http://revision3.com/indigital/cameras

[sameerrao]

TGNL - Since you mentioned it ;)
http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/7774/nikonzf9.th.jpg (http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nikonzf9.jpg)

[novass]

^^ LOL

I was thinking about the D80 if I could get a discount, but I can't anymore :( Without the discount it will be just too damned expensive.

Thanks for the advice Ken. I will check out those places you mentioned and also do some research into warranties. My GF's Dad has the Canon so I think I will borrow it for a day or so and see how I like it.

TGNL - What kind of lenses did you buy? Who makes the best ones?

Erez - Thanks for that link, some interesting stuff there. Especially the naked chick painted like a tiger :wink: and the 200-500mm lens :shock:

[Smartdriver]

Hello novass, I give you my opinion.
If you search a DSLR to upgrade your quality image (from compact camera to more professional system like DSLR) you must ask you some question:

1) Do you like photography and want to learn and try to improve your technick?
3) I'm only a point-and-shot man?
2) Which type of lenses I will use?
4) How much can I spend in quality lenses?

Choose Canon or Nikon is not so important. Personally I think that both have great Camera body and performance Lenses.
More important is tho choose good quality lenses if you want to use all great performance of DSLR system.
The problem is that lenses are not so cheap...so you must calculate expenses of all system like Camera + often 2 lenses from wide to tele.

Sying this I'm a Canon fan and I work with a EOS 30D. I know, isn't so cheap but with type of camere you can work...yes...not only for amatorial use but also for professional use. Is not so performace like 5D, 1Ds, ecc but it's still amazing. If you want to spend less there is Canon 400D...another great camera, with less functions and also a small price (approximately the half of 30D) but with the hight quality image of Canon Digic processor.

If you cannot touch and test camera who interest you, visit some important digicams website like Dpreview or Steves-digicams and you read the tests. They could help you in the choice. :wink:

[Erez]

:lol: no prob.. talk about zoom hu.. :lol: :lol:
I think you can see bacteria with it.. :lol:

[novass]

Hello novass, I give you my opinion.
If you search a DSLR to upgrade your quality image (from compact camera to more professional system like DSLR) you must ask you some question:

1) Do you like photography and want to learn and try to improve your technick?
3) I'm only a point-and-shot man?
2) Which type of lenses I will use?
4) How much can I spend in quality lenses?

Choose Canon or Nikon is not so important. Personally I think that both have great Camera body and performance Lenses.
More important is tho choose good quality lenses if you want to use all great performance of DSLR system.
The problem is that lenses are not so cheap...so you must calculate expenses of all system like Camera + often 2 lenses from wide to tele.

Sying this I'm a Canon fan and I work with a EOS 30D. I know, isn't so cheap but with type of camere you can work...yes...not only for amatorial use but also for professional use. Is not so performace like 5D, 1Ds, ecc but it's still amazing. If you want to spend less there is Canon 400D...another great camera, with less functions and also a small price (approximately the half of 30D) but with the hight quality image of Canon Digic processor.

If you cannot touch and test camera who interest you, visit some important digicams website like Dpreview or Steves-digicams and you read the tests. They could help you in the choice. :wink:

You bring up some really good points. I am not a super photographer, but I would like to become better and I need something more than a point and shoot to help me do that. Ill check out those sites too and see what I come up with. :D

:lol: no prob.. talk about zoom hu.. :lol: :lol:
I think you can see bacteria with it.. :lol:

LOL ya that thing was MASSIVE! :shock: :lol: That would work well as a perv lense for seeing chicks changing. :wink:

[Erez]

I pretty much think thats what all those guys over there at the show was thinking.. :lol:

[ae86_16v]

Hey Nova, since you can't get a discount on Nikons anymore, I guess it is open game. I personally prefer Nikon, but like SmartDriver said, those are good questions to ask.

With that pointed out, Canon does seem to offer better deals with and without rebates than Nikons. Don't know why, but Nikons seems to hold their MSRP price pretty close.

Here is a good deal:

Canon EOS Rebel XTi 10.1MP SLR Camera
Dell Home has the Canon EOS Rebel XTi 10.1-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Lens for $764.15 with free shipping. Apply coupon code "XT4XXJQHJ4C3M6" to drop it to $737.18. Altough that's $18 over our last mention, since expired, it's still the lowest total price we could find by $26. Sales tax is added where applicable. The EOS Rebel XTi features a 2.5" LCD, 3 frames per second burst mode, USB 2.0 connectivity, and EOS Integrated Cleaning system which includes a self-cleaning sensor unit. Coupon ends April 19 at 6 pm ET or after 700 uses.

The XTi is an excellent camera. Although few reviews say it isn't up to par with the D80 in certain areas, the D80 is a few hundred dollars more. This might be worth taking a look at.

[TopGearNL]

TGNL - Since you mentioned it ;)
http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/7774/nikonzf9.th.jpg (http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nikonzf9.jpg)

Yeah!! :twisted: :lol:


TGNL - What kind of lenses did you buy? Who makes the best ones?

Well I buy Sigma lenses, they are very good for the price but not all of them. For instance the 70-300 (which I have) is very good and the results are very close to a official Nikkor (nikon) lense. But the 18-200 sucks ass of Sigma according to reviews so you will have to do good research before buying lenses.

Sigma lenses cost about half the price what Nikkor lenses cost in most cases. Sometimes looking for a good 2nd hand Nikkor lense also pays off!

I got a kit, so a D50 with a Nikkor 18-55 lense and I like that lense very much, its fast at focussing and puts down good results.

Overall like I said and I think many people will agree with this: Lenses are more important then the body. Remember that if you invest in lenses and want to go a step higher in terms of a body (D50-> D200) you only need to change the body, you can keep the lenses. So investing in lenses is never a bad thing.

[dutchmasterflex]

I just had the though of upgrading to the D200 for my sister's wedding this saturday. I'd be willing to sell my D50 with 18-55mm, UV, Polarizer and bag for $500

[novass]

Thanks for finding that deal Ken! I just took a look at my GF's Dad's Rebel XT for a little and it seems like it would do the job well. Maybe sometime next week I will go to a camera shop and compare the Nikons. I may also being selling my Nova which would put other cameras into my list as options, like the D80 :D So I will see how that goes.

@TGNL - I was just looking at Sigma lenses and I have been popping in and out of dpreview.com to see what people think. I do agree that lenses are more important than the body, now I just need to decide which lenses I need/want

@dmflex - damn, you had to go and throw another option into the ring :D. Unfortunately, it wont be economically feasible for me ATM since I need to make sure I have enough money for the trip.

[dutchmasterflex]

I'm still considering the D200.. If I can get this dude at the photoshop to give me a low quote on a D200 18-200mm VR package so I can go to best buy and have them price match, I'll do it.

If I do go through with it, and if you'd like to buy my D50, I can hold on to it until you want to purchase..

just an idea ;)

[ae86_16v]

Damn. . . the 18-200mm VR :drool:

[dutchmasterflex]

Yeah... only way to that lens with out having to wait months is with the D200 18-200mm kit or pay a $100+ markup.

Luckily Best Buy has a price matching policy and the dude at my local photo shop gave me a quote for $600 less than what Best Buy is charging. :D

The price match hasn't gone 100% through cause it was a weird order over the phone, but I should know by tomorrow morning. Now the only thing I'm worried about is if I'll get it before the wedding on Saturday at 2pm. :?

[TopGearNL]

18-200mm VR is the playboy bunny of lenses! 8)